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After weeks of online speculation suggesting the band was on the brink of collapse, the founding members of Velvet Revolver — guitarists Slash and Dave Kushner, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum — officially sent lead singer Scott Weiland packing Tuesday. The rumors of a Velvet Revolver split began soon after Weiland’s onstage announcement two weeks ago — during a gig in Glasgow, Scotland — that the crowd in attendance that evening were witnessing something very special: the last-ever Velvet Revolver tour.Velvet Revolver announced their decision to fire Weiland in a press release issued just as the rockers were playing the last notes of their final performance with the Stone Temple Pilots frontman in Amsterdam. Slash sited Weiland’s lack of commitment, “increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems” as reasons for the dismissal. There is still no word on whether the band plans to continue with a new singer.Surprisingly, an entire night passed without Weiland responding — but really, it wasn’t a question of if he would issue his own retort, but when. In an e-mail sent exclusively to MTV News Wednesday morning, Weiland fired back at his erstwhile bandmates, and pulled no punches in his attack of the Revolver.”After reading the comment by Duff, Matt, Dave and the illustrious ‘Guitar Hero,’ Saul Hudson, a.k.a. Slash, I find it humorous that the so-called four ‘founding members’ of Velvet Revolver, better known to themselves as ‘the Project’ before I officially named the band, would decide to move on without me after I had already claimed the group dead in the water on March 20 in Glasgow,” Weiland explained. “In response to Slash’s comment regarding my commitment [to the band], I have to say it is a blatant and tired excuse to cover up the truth. The truth of the matter is that the band had not gotten along on multiple levels for some time. On a musical level, there were moments of joy, inspiration, fun … at times. But let’s not forget the multiple trips to rehab every member of the band had taken (with the exception of one member — no need to mention his name).

“Personally speaking, I choose to look forward to the future and performing with a group of friends I have known my entire life, people who have always had my back,” Weiland continued. “This also speaks to my commitment to my music and my fellow bandmates in [Stone Temple Pilots] and to the fans who I feel would much rather watch a group of musicians who enjoy being together as opposed to a handful of discontents who at one time used to call themselves a gang.”

In conclusion, Weiland warned fans not to be “fooled by veiled trickery,” and even wished Velvet Revolver his best. “Good hunting, lads — I think Sebastian Bach would be a fantastic choice.”

Now, Weiland will turn his energies to the re-formed Stone Temple Pilots, who are expected to reveal details of a full-scale summer tour during a news conference next week. As for Velvet Revolver’s future, Slash has said in a number of recent interviews that there would be a third LP from the band, and that Weiland’s characterization of the band’s European tour as its last was simply untrue.

Classic-rock fans have a triple-play to look forward to this summer when Journey, Cheap Trick and Heart join forces for a massive tour.

The 50-date run is scheduled to kick off July 9 in Denver and is booked primarily at amphitheaters throughout the US. The itinerary, included below, stretches into early October.

The outing will mark the debut of new Journey singer Arnel Pineda, whom the group crowned in December as the replacement for the band’s short-lived previous vocalist, Jeff Scott Soto, who split with the group last May after fronting the act for less than a year. Soto stepped into the role in 2006 when then-lead singer Steve Augieri was sidelined with vocal problems; Augieri had held the slot since the late ’90s after taking over for the group’s best-known singer, Steve Perry, with whom the band scored a flock of late-’70s and early ’80s hits including “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Fathfully,” “Wheel in the Sky,” “Any Way You Want It” and “Open Arms.”

The upcoming tour supports Journey’s forthcoming June 3 release, “Revelation,” a three-disc CD and DVD package that will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores in North America, according to a press release. Disc one comprises 11 re-recorded classics, disc two features 11 new songs, and disc three is a concert DVD.

Heart–sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson–released its most recent album, “Jupiter’s Darling,” in 2004. The set marked the pair’s first new studio collection in more than a decade.

Last September, Ann Wilson offered up her first solo album, “Hope & Glory.” She’s backing the set with a series of live shows that are scattered through mid-June; details are available at her MySpace page.

I must admit that I am long overdue in checking out Cinder Road. The band has been growing in popularity, and opening for likes of Daughtry and Tesla, hasn’t hurt their cause one bit.

I recently caught Cinder Road live. My wife and I enjoyed their show, so I had to check out their new CD, Superhuman.

Much like Stonerider, whose album I reviewed on Monday, Cinder Road is a 2nd debut by this 5 piece band from Lutherville, Maryland. The band already has a couple of albums to their credit under the moniker, Plunge. I haven’t heard any of those songs, but thank god they changed that awful name!

Cinder Road has a sound that is probably closer to Butch Walker’s Marvelous 3, than anything remotely hard rock. Their songs have a hard edge, which make the songs easily palatable for main stream music and hard rock fans alike.

I prefer the harder cuts on Superhuman. My favorite songs on this record are, I’m So Sorry,Should’ve Known Better, and Get In Get Out.

Superhuman is a solid effort by Cinder Road, and one that should garner some mainstream success for the band. The music is a little lighter than those usually reviewed at HRH, but Superhuman is certainly a disc worth exploring!

Track Listing:
1. I’m So Sorry
2. Bad Excuse
3. Back Home To You
4. Should’ve Known Better
5. Get In Get Out
6. Learning To Love
7. Feels So Good
8. SuperHuman
9. One
10. Drift Away
11. Don’t Be Scared

Confederacy of Horsepower has a released a new promo clip for their single, Once If Your Lucky. This song is on the bands’ new CD, Vagabond Carabet, that is available through the Confederacy of Horsepower myspace page.

VELVET REVOLVER founding members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner announced today (Tuesday, April 1) that they are parting ways with singer Scott Weiland. “This band is all about its fans and its music and Scott Weiland isn’t 100% committed to either,” said Slash in a press release. “Among other things, his increasingly erratic onstage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on.”

Slash hinted in a recent interview that the band might carry on without Weiland, who announced onstage in Glasgow two weeks ago that fans were watching the “last tour” by the group. Weiland and drummer Matt Sorum proceeded to get into a public war of words online, fueling speculation that the band was splitting apart. But Slash told Classic Rock magazine, “Obviously I’m very aware of everything that’s going on. The only thing I can add to that is, in contrast to what Scott says, there will be a VELVET REVOLVER after this tour.” When asked if Weiland would continue as the singer, Slash added with a chuckle, “I have no comment on that.”

Weiland is reuniting with his previous outfit, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, which broke up in 2002. The group has scheduled a press conference in Los Angeles for April 7 where it will announce a full tour of 50 or more dates for the summer and fall in addition to the handful of festival shows already confirmed.

Weiland spent a month in rehab recently, following an arrest for driving under the influence last November and his failure to show up for a VELVET REVOLVER gig at the Sundance Festival in January.

Despite the latest turmoil, bassist Duff McKagan told the U.K.’s Journal Live recently, “VELVET REVOLVER is something that’s going to be around for a long while yet.”